Pages

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Pick a Platform

I have been alternately pleased with and overwhelmed by the entry of Google+ into the social media platform competition. I am the veriest novice when it comes to the whole issue. In my real life I don't do platforms. The shoes are ridiculous and perilous for one who is literally off-balance. Physical platforms are off the ground and inherently risky. Political platforms, stating it as gently as I can, are written by manipulative sociopaths to appeal to those below the lowest common denominator (2012 is going to be a very long year).

But though platform adverse, I have experimented with different social media platforms. Facebook has been a delightful place to connect informally with other family history researchers, genealogists and bloggers. I rarely use Twitter, but when there's a conference I wish I was attending or a popular uprising in Cairo, it can't be beat.

I post this blog to both because several readers have mentioned their preference for receiving blog posts via Twitter feeds or on Facebook through NetworkedBlogs. Though I strongly prefer blog reading through an RSS aggregator like Google Reader, I aim to please.

And now there's Google+.

I haven't posted my blog there before today. It seems excessive to post the same material three times over. I am not marketing myself in any commercial sense. I am simply trying to make the material I write available to those who are interested in the format that is most convenient. I am finding the redundancy a little depressing. Must one post everything on every platform? It seems like virtual littering.

So, in an effort to discern the preferences of you, my loyal reader, I've devised this brief poll. Please vote and let me know your 'druthers. Voting will remain open through August 25th. I will share the results next week.

12 comments:

I hear ya, oh, I hear ya! FB has become my chatter about anything social media, lots of friends/family/rvers there. I link to Flora and Fauna there and posts from Reflections that have little to do with genie.

G+ is my choice for genie related socializing. I now post links to my genie blog posts on Reflections there and no longer post them to FB.

I will pick up an occasional blog on G+ that I do not subscribe to, but, for the most part my reader is where I see and read posts by others.

I actually go to the blog and read it there after following a link from either my dashboard, fb or google+ and sometimes twitter but I don't use twitter much. unless there is a hurricane I'm following, an uprising somewhere or the like.

Susan, it's not about us it's about "them." Some of them use Facebook, some only use Twitter and some have switched exclusively now to G+. I want to start a conversation with my connections where ever they are so I will continue to follow the path of social media where ever it goes.

First, dear Susan, I love your reference to political platforms, lol! I just may have to quote you on that because I can't think of a better way to say it myself. As you say, we have a long election year ahead of us next year!

I can't fill out your poll because I can't see it on my iPad. I'll try to anticipate what you want to know and share it here as a comment.

I am no longer posting to FB (except for Carnival of Genealogy stuff since I can't create a commercial/topic page/account on Google+ and I already have one set up on G+). I am a G+ convert and happy to be one. I do still check FB fairly often because of the commercial pages I follow and because many of my genealogy friends haven't seen the light (of G+) yet. I sure hope they do soon because I'm checking FB less and less frequently.

I have a Twitter acct but I never post to it and I only check it once a week or so. Mostly I just follow celebs like Anderson Cooper on it. I'm really not a Twitter fan. It's just entertainment for me.

I used to use Google feed reader to follow blogs but I'm relying on it less and less. More often I use Flipboard on my iPad. Having said that, I'll see and read your blog post sooner if it's posted to G+ because I only launch Flipboard once a day while I check G+ multiple times a day.

I don't like "the noise", as it's referred to, of seeing the same info (blog post promo/announcement) posted over and over again on multiple platforms and I have un-friended/stopped following some bloggers because of that. Like you, it strikes me as litter and I don't have time to waste seeing the same stuff over and over again.

I guess this is a long winded way of saying I vote for you to post your blog links to G+!

While I prefer to use Google Reader/RSS feeds to read the blogs I am interested in, I announce my blog posts on Twitter and on Google+ because I hope to reach more people that way. Then if they choose to follow me, they can do it with whatever they prefer to use for that purpose. Twitter and Google+ are good publicity platforms. I mainly use my Facebook account to keep in touch with family and non-genealogical friends.

I'll be interested in the results. Personally I read blogs through Google Reader but I keep wondering if I should be feeding my blog through facebook, google+, etc. Like some have indicated too much becomes litter.

I just came to your blog by way of my reader -- I really like it. The more I use google+, however, the more I like it. I guess I'm guilty of creating litter because none of my family will use google+ -- so I post on facebook and twitter for them. Also, I post to twitter using #geneablogger and #twitter hashtags so that some of the posts will be published in the daily newspapers published by Thomas Macentee and others.

Well, I voted, so this is just extra info, but here goes. I mostly use Google Reader to read blogs (and then I usually click on the blog so that it will actually show up as a hit). Don't use Twitter, yet (though I'm considering it next time I go to a conference). These days I prefer Google+ for posting from my blog, though I'll probably use Facebook when it's something that my relatives will want to see.

This is definitely a difficult issue to sort out. I use it all. I still do most of my blog reading through Google Reader - probably because I'm not connected to every blog I follow through FB, G+ or Twitter. What I read where depends on how much time I have at that moment. I often read blogs through Twitter, FB and G+ but I also know if I don't have time right then, the posts will all be waiting for me in Google Reader later.

It doesn't bother me if I see the same thing posted everywhere. I just skim past the stuff I've already seen. Even though I follow/friend/circle many of the same people on all four, there are still many people that are only connected through one platform. If you limit posting to any one platform, you are likely missing reaching a large number of people.

Comments related to the information shared here are most appreciated. All comments are moderated, and since I am not actively researching right now it many take a day or two for your comment to post. Please know that it will post, and that I much appreciate the feedback.